


Tenuji (Needs a real title)

by AncientWings



Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-02
Updated: 2014-08-02
Packaged: 2018-02-11 12:27:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2068158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AncientWings/pseuds/AncientWings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tenuji, an agent of Al-Thamen, is captured by Sinbad and taken to his country of Sindria.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tenuji (Needs a real title)

I stared down at the scene before me, rocking back and forth on my heels in boredom. I was perched on a rooftop, cloaked by magic, watching two kids as they crept along the street. They were obviously poor; their clothing was in tatters and their ribs showed through their clothes. It was a quiet night for me, so I thought I would relax and enjoy the show. Now they stepped into the shadow of a building, a bakery. Ha. Little thieves. One hoisted the other on his shoulders, and the one on top grappled with the window. Finding no way to open it quietly from the outside, he shrugged and dropped to the ground.

  
I followed them as they crept around to the back of the bakery. The kid who had been on top pulled out a long, thin piece of metal and stuck it in the lock of the back door. It took him about 30 seconds of wiggling to pop open the door, making a small click. The two boys froze at the noise, but even in the silence of the night it went unnoticed. They entered the shop, easing the door almost closed on their way in.

  
Several minutes passed before they returned, grinning. They each held a small sack, bread, cheese, and apples sticking out of both of them. Suddenly I heard a shout. The children, terrified, almost dropped their bags as they began to run. The baker appeared, looking furious. He looked around frantically to see which way they had run.

  
Laughing quietly, I dropped to the ground in front of the baker. As he started to run after the kids, I held my foot out in front of him, causing his large weight to crash heavily to the ground. A quick kick to the skull knocked him out cold. Job done, I scanned the city for the direction the kids had gone. I returned to the rooftops, leaping from one to another in the direction I thought I had seen them flee. It didn’t take long to spot them. They were still running, but no one was going after them now. They ran into a quiet alley.

  
I dropped silently to the ground in front of them, almost giddy with excitement. Revealing myself was always my favorite part. One could never quite tell how they were going to react. With fear, of course, but it fascinated me that there were so many ways humans reacted to fear. Some fled. Some fought. Some cowered and waited to die. Some pleaded. Some offered their lives if I would spare others’. A few even asked me to kill them. I shouldn’t have to state that I obliged.

  
I let go of my spell and reached my hand into one of the bags the kids were holding, taking an apple and biting into it. My stomach growled. “Heh. I was hungrier than I thought,” I muttered.

  
The kids turned to me in terror. One started to run, but I slammed him with a wave of magic and formed a barrier, preventing them from escaping the alley. “What’s the fun in running away?” I asked softly.

  
“Who... Who are you?!” one of the boys gasped. It was the one who had picked the lock; he looked to be the older of the two. It was hard to see his hair and eye color in the cold moonlight, but they both seemed light. His wavy hair fell slightly past his shoulders. His brother - for they looked very much alike - had straight hair that was much shorter. The older one stood in front of his brother, protecting him from me.

  
I shrugged and bit into my apple. “Just someone who’s bored. Thanks for the grub.” I gestured with my head in the direction of the bakery. “You oughta thank me. I took care of the guy on your tail.”

  
“You were watching us?” spat the older boy. He raised his fists.

  
I grinned at his efforts to be tough. “Yeah. Why shouldn’t I have watched? Were you doing something that shouldn’t have been seen?”

  
The boy tried to speak but couldn’t find words. He grew angrier as his mouth flopped open and closed like a fish’s. “Leave us alone,” he finally growled.

  
I took one more bite and dropped the rest of the apple into my mouth at once. I chewed thoughtfully for a few seconds. “I’d rather not,” I said as I swallowed. “This is too much fun.” I gestured to the both of them. “Hey, I don’t think I caught your names. I’m Tenuji.” I held out my hand for the boy to shake.

  
He looked at me suspiciously and kept his hands at his sides. “I’m Karim. My... My brother is Naji.” Naji looked at me and nodded fearfully.

  
I smiled. “A real pleasure to meet you.”

“What do you want with us?” His voice was slightly deeper than Karim’s and much more full of fear.

  
“I’m not sure yet,” I said thoughtfully. “Would it be more fun to torture you or simply let you go? You seem like such nice kids. So polite and honest. You must have wonderful parents waiting for you at home who taught you such values.”

  
“Don’t you dare touch my brother.” Karim’s voice was impossibly quiet, but there was no mistaking the fury that coursed through it. I smirked.

  
“Yes, perhaps I should kill your brother and leave you alive. As I said, I was bored, so I was looking for some fun.” I grinned widely. “Or maybe it would be better to leave you both alive. You never saw me until I revealed myself. At any point in your life, from now on, you can never be certain you’re safe. You can’t be sure that there isn’t someone watching whom you cannot see. You don’t know who they are, or what they want. You w-”

  
“STOP IT!” roared Karim. The shout echoed throughout the neighborhood, and Karim’s face paled.

  
“You’ll never get anywhere in life with that little control over your anger,” I lamented. I smirked and faded back into the shadows, then leapt to the roof. I lowered the magic barrier that blocked off the alley. Naji and Karim glanced around, terrified as the sound of footsteps approached the alley. They looked frantically for somewhere to stash their food, but were seen before they could move. Naji kept looking around for me, but I could tell that Karim knew it was no use.

  
“That bastard,” Karim spat. “Traitor. Coward. Fool.” I laughed at his words. Oh, it was indeed far more entertaining to let them live.

  
“Who are you speaking to?” demanded one of the guards that had appeared. He held a spear against Karim’s neck. “Where did you get that food?”

  
“If you’re still here,” Naji said, “please help us.” His voice was quiet, pleading. Helpless. I sighed and rocked back again on my heels. Did I want to bother helping them? If I didn’t, they would surely be caught and jailed. Probably killed. Killing wasn’t any fun unless I was the one who got to do it.

  
“Damn you, kid!” The guard heard Naji’s voice and jabbed him in the arm with his spear, causing him to scream. “Answer me and stop talking to the damn air!” Two more guards flanked the first. I sighed and dropped again to the ground. I whipped out the long dagger I carried with me for emergencies, hardened it with magoi, and slashed it through the first guard’s neck. Before the other guards could react, I plunged the dagger deep into both of their hearts. They dropped to the ground, clutching their chests and making a wet choking sound. Naji tried to stop himself from screaming. Karim just stood and stared. I wiped the knife off on the uniform of one of the guards and placed it back in its sheath.

  
“Are you guys just going to stand here and get caught? Go on home before they bring more guards.” I kicked one of the bodies out of the way and gently pushed Karim toward the alley’s exit. He stared at me, his eyes large with fright. “I’ll make sure you make it home safe, but after that I’m out of here. Got it?”

  
Naji nodded and grasped Karim’s hand. Karim breathed deeply and nodded as well. With Naji in toe, he darted nimbly toward the exit, peering both ways before venturing out onto the poorly lit street.

  
No one moved as they made their way down the side of the street, trying their best to stick to the most shadowy areas. I lazed along behind them, half-covered by my spell. I was too lazy and it was too dark for me to bother covering myself with it completely. If I spotted movement or something out of the ordinary, I could instantly cover myself with it. But as long as I kept out of light, I should have been invisible.

  
“Are you still there?” Naji whispered at one point. I chuckled in reply, and Naji relaxed a little. Both boys clutched tightly to their bags as they ducked behind trash heaps and scuttled along the sidewalk. I ambled along, keeping a lazy eye out for any danger. Naji and Karim both visibly relaxed when they reached a broken-down shack hidden on a side street.

  
I laughed inwardly when I saw their home. Its shutters were broken; one hung only by a single strip of wood. The roof was thatched and partially collapsed; the wooden walls were splintered and termite-ridden. I watched as they snuck in through the front door. Karim went in without a second thought, but Naji hesitated, looking for me.

  
“Good luck explaining that arm.” I smirked, allowed myself to be visible for a moment, waved, then disappeared again. Naji smiled and waved at the place I had been, though he did look worried at having to explain his injury. I sighed silently. I almost liked the kid, but he would surely die on the streets. He was far too weak to survive as a thief. His brother couldn’t protect him forever.

  
“Bye, kid,” I muttered as Naji took one last look around and crept inside. After he shut the door behind him, I used my magic to conveniently turn off gravity around me, allowing me to float into the air. Flying was an amazing sensation. Admittedly I would sometimes waste magoi on flying for fun. I sighed and cursed the fact that I hadn’t been born a magi. They had a limitless supply of magoi; it loved them and coursed through them. But at least I had a larger than normal amount of it. But not enough to beat a magi. I spat as I thought of Judal. I would never cease trying to kill him.

  
I flew on, my thoughts turning to my brother. No, even more than Judal, I wanted to find my brother and torture him. To know why he turned his back on me. To find out why he left me to be beaten and tortured by the men who had robbed and destroyed us. My heart shuddered as I thought that perhaps my brother had been one of them. The thieves had worn dark clothing, and masks, hiding their identities. My heart skipped several beats as another thought came to me: maybe my brother had been the one to cut off my toe. Maybe he wanted a... A souvenir of me.

  
My right foot twitched as I thought of the toe I was half-missing. I didn’t need that damn toe. I could fly. I could just fly and no one could stop me, no matter how many toes and feet and legs I was missing. Anger surged through me as I flew over the town. Those thieves had destroyed everything dear to me - they killed all of my beloved pets, except for dear old Sheba. I forced the thought of her away. I still couldn’t bear to think of her death. Instead I returned to mentally recounting my tale. The robbers had forced me to become a thief myself. I worked what jobs I could find, stole when I didn’t have work. Sometimes Sheba would share a rat she caught. More often I would have to heal her cuts and broken bones using the small amount of magic I had somehow taught myself. Damn it. Of course my thoughts returned again to Sheba. I had loved that cat. She is the only thing in this world I have loved.

  
Since thinking inevitably brought me to Sheba and unbearable pain, I opted not to think for the time being. The night was dark and still; I sensed no nearby danger. It should have been safe, so foolishly I cast a spell on myself to keep my thoughts away. My mind would be blank for the set of time I ordered the spell to work; I was tempted to set it for eternity.

  
I sighed and cast it, asking it to keep my mind blank for exactly an hour. I felt as though I were drifting into sleep as my thoughts mercifully fell away.

  
My mind reawoke in confusion. Hands held me; I tried to move my arms but they were bound. “Keep still,” a voice ordered. I raised my head but could only see the hindquarters of a guard that held me.

  
Curse you, you blasted idiot, I thought. You can’t even bear to think half the time so you seal your thoughts away, and then you end up captured by your enemies. You goddamned bloody fool.

  
I twisted my body in an attempt to struggle free, but I knew it was useless. A guard thumped me on the head with his weapon. “I said keep still!” he shouted. I obliged, letting my body slump uselessly. “And don’t even think of using magic,” the guard snarled. “These restraints prevent that.” I snorted. Of course they did.

  
I stared at the passing ground and wondered where we were. How far had I flown before they captured me? I didn’t even know how much time had passed. They easily could have knocked me out after my spell wore off - and, judging from my throbbing head, probably had. I couldn’t have acted any more foolishly if I had tried. I hadn’t even considered the possibility that Al-Thamen’s enemies knew I was here.

  
“Where are we going?” I mumbled, my voice slightly slurred.

  
“Nowhere pleasant,” retorted the guard.

  
I laughed. “I figured that much.”

  
I had hoped for some kind of reaction, but the guard didn’t even bother to reply. He just kept walking, walking, walking with the rest of his troop, with me strung up like a pig they were about to roast.

  
After an hour or so of walking I began to grow bored. “Uggh, are we almost there yet?” I muttered, yawning widely. Again the guard didn’t reply, so I started trying to wriggle free again. Immediately I was whumped on the head with a spear or staff, hard enough that the world seemed to spin under me. The guard growled something under his breath that I couldn’t quite catch. I resisted the urge to say something more and managed to make myself keep still. I was tired of being hit on the head. It didn’t make me happy. Not happy at all.

  
We walked on and on, until suddenly I smelled the tang of salty air. I heard one of the guards groaning about my weight. That earned him a quick smack. I resisted the urge to chuckle, knowing that doing so would earn me one as well. I heard the lead guard exchange words with someone, though I still could see only the ground and the back of the guard in front of me. There was a chuckle from the guard and a laugh from the other man he was talking to, louder but more gentle. I felt my weight being shifted, and I felt the pull of waves as we walked to the end of the dock and onto the gangplank of a ship. I assumed it was large, but I couldn’t see. I was carried down to the hold, where I was shoved into a cage. My legs were unbound, but my hands were still tied to each other. A few of the guards sighed in relief at having delivered their burden. The lead guard dismissed them, and gratefully they left.

  
The lead guard left after a moment, and I heard shouting and grunting and the sound of things being pushed around. Soon the sounds stopped, and I felt the ship begin to tilt gently from side to side as we pulled away from shore and into deeper waters. I wondered where we were going.

  
It was several hours before anyone came to see me. I heard harsh footsteps pound down the steps, followed by a lighter pair. The guard that had prodded me with his spear entered the room.

  
“King Sinbad would like to have words with you,” he spat. He glared at me, then turned and headed back up to the deck.

  
King Sinbad, huh? Well. This was bad.

  
“A pleasure to meet you. Tenuji, is it?” Someone who I assumed must be Sinbad stepped from the shadows. He had long, purple hair tied in a ponytail and kind eyes, though I couldn’t tell their color in the dim light. To my great annoyance, I found him quite handsome.

  
“Good afternoon, Sinbad,” I said coolly. My mouth twitched into a smirk. “How kind of you to deign to speak with me.” As I spoke, a sudden itch pricked my side. I grunted in annoyance, twisting my arms in an attempt to reach it. I moved to scratch it against the side of the makeshift cell, finally getting some relief. But as I did so, the ship suddenly tilted, sending me crashing to the ground near Sinbad’s feet.

  
I quickly scrambled back up, struggling since I couldn’t push myself up with my hands. My face grew red as I waited for his laughter. But his expression was calm. I asked seethingly, “Have you forgotten how to laugh?”

  
He just stared at me for several seconds, a thoughtful and unreadable expression on his face. “I make it a point not to mock my enemies,” he finally said. He said it calmly, with no trace of malice or pointed humor. His small kindness to me made me hate him more.

  
“You were unresponsive when we found you,” Sinbad said after a few more seconds. His tone of voice was as unreadable as his face. “I don’t blame you for wishing to forget everything. You must have faced terrible hardships.” I must have imagined that his voice now seemed to contain a trace of sympathy.

  
“What do my hardships mean to you?” I narrowed my eyes in a glare, and Sinbad smiled slightly - a kind, sympathetic smile. No. Stop. This is your enemy, I thought. You’ve killed his people. Tortured them. He’d hate you if he had any sense. Not pity you.

  
“Your hardships have caused you to kill people very dear to me.” The sympathy was gone. “Your hardships made you curse your fate and fall from grace. Your-”

  
“Why did you bring me here?” I interrupted with a sneer. “To pity me?”

  
“No,” Sinbad said softly. “But I do pity you.”

  
I stared at him in silence. Too many emotions filled me to allow me to form an expression. Even my anger was tempered by sheer confusion.

  
“What are you going to do with me?” I eventually said in a harsh whisper.

  
“Are you asking me if I’m going to torture you as you would your prisoners?” He laughed sharply. “No. We’re going to imprison you, question you. Nothing more.”

  
“And what if I refuse to be imprisoned?” Kind Sinbad didn’t laugh even at that.

  
“Then, if we must...” Sinbad said softly. “We’ll kill you.”

  
We were both silent for a time. Sinbad watched me, his expression shifting subtly but still unreadable. “Do you expect me to betray Al-Thamen, with torture or without?”  
Sinbad sighed. “No. Because they would torture you.” His gaze focused on me. “But that doesn’t mean I won’t try.”

  
I laughed. “You know how worthless this is. It’d probably be better for you if you just killed me. They’ll send people after me. They’ll help me escape, and trust me, I have no qualms about killing you, King Sinbad.”

  
“Would it be worth it to them to rescue someone who was captured by the enemy due to his own sheer stupidity?” Maddeningly, his voice still was free of mockery. He spoke matter-of-factly; we could have been discussing what we had for breakfast. “Do they care for you at all?”

  
I didn’t speak, so Sinbad sighed and continued on. “Furthermore, please do not call me King. You will never have the right to call yourself my subject.”

  
“As if it’s some great honor,” I sneered. “Do you really care for them at all? Are there not slums? Are there not people who grow up in the street? Do you claim to have built a utopia?”

  
Sinbad still looked at me calmly. “I can claim to have tried.”

  
I scoffed. “You know it’s useless to try to accomplish that. It’s impossible. No one will ever be happy. You might as well just look out for your own happiness.”

  
“So because good is impossible, we all might as well try to destroy everything everyone holds dear.”

  
I raised my head in fury. “The point is the opposite of to destroy! Don’t you hate being trapped by fate? Don’t you hate having everything decided for you? I won’t listen to it! I don’t care what happens, but I’ll fight the prison of fate with everything I have!”

  
“You’re a fool,” Sinbad said, so softly I almost didn’t hear him. His gaze shifted to the wall and seemed to move far away. “And so was I, once,” I think I heard him say. He wasn’t speaking to me anymore.

  
“You don’t even know what you’re fighting for.” This was directed at me, though his gaze still seemed distant. I bristled.

  
“How dare you tell me why I’m fighting.” I spat in his face, catching him on the cheek. Sinbad raised a hand to wipe it off, not honoring the gesture with words. My mind roiled with anger. I could not figure this man out.

  
“Do you have anything more to say?” Sinbad asked after several minutes of silence. I glared silently. Sinbad sighed and half turned away. “Then I shall leave you until we reach Sindria.” I stared after him until he left my sight, his footsteps echoing on the wood of the ship. I heard them fade as he walked back up on deck.

  
“Damn him,” I muttered to myself. “Damn him, damn me, just damn fucking everything!” I savagely kicked at the bars with my foot, the pain that instantly coursed through it upon doing so igniting my rage further. “AAAHHHH!!!” I roared, desperate for some way to release my anger. I imagined myself storming into Sinbad’s room, pulling off his head and ripping open his body with my own two hands. They twitched in their bindings, itching to be doing something, to be killing or raping or bloody hell I just wanted them to die, die, die. I realized then that I would rather endure torture than be trapped in a cage as if I were nothing more than a stupid animal. Is this how slaves feel? I snorted. Maybe so. Not that I cared about the plight of slaves. They were only slaves because they were too weak to fight back. Well, I was planning to fight.

  
I growled again before slumping back against the side of my cell. No matter my rage or my determination, there was really nothing to do now but wait. I had no metal vessels; my magic was sealed away. I told myself that as soon as an opportunity appeared, I would escape. My head dropped into my tied hands. I hated this. If only I had something, some way to prove that I was not helpless. Yet I was helpless. I raged against the possibility, denial pouring out of my every cell, refusing to believe that here in this position I was weak. But I was too weak to even keep up the denial for long, and I let myself crumple up into a ball. My hands ached from being tied together. My head still hurt from being knocked out. I was so hungry my stomach physically ached; as I thought of it it growled loudly enough to fill the small room.

  
As I let out a quiet moan because of the pain in my stomach, I heard soft footsteps coming down the stairs. A louder pair followed them. A small boy with long blue hair tied in a braid stepped before me, followed by Sinbad. The boy carried a bowl of something that smelled so good my stomach seemed to wrap in knots. I unconsciously sniffed loudly as the scent wafted toward me. The boy wore a focused expression, and Sinbad gestured for him to step toward me.

  
“Um... I brought you some food,” the boy said, trying to meet my gaze but flicking it away every time our eyes met. He bent down so that I could see the stew that filled it.

  
“How am I supposed to eat that?” I snapped. “Like a dog?”

  
Sinbad’s eyes blazed. “We are kind to be giving you anything at all! Would you rather us let you starve?”

  
I chuckled slightly, my laughter growing louder by the second. “Hahaha!” My laughter echoed off the walls, more mirthful than it really should have been in this situation. “Ahahaha!” I smirked. “I finally managed to make you angry.” Some sense of my power returned.

  
“My anger is not something you should wish to deal with,” Sinbad said quietly. He gently took the bowl from the boy. He took out a key, opened the door momentarily with a clang, and set the bowl in front of me. He slammed the door shut again before I could attempt to move. It locked as soon as it swung shut.

  
Sinbad and I stared at each other for a few seconds. The child had backed away slightly, but he now stared at me. His expression had changed to one that was almost sympathetic. Who were these fools who thought they could beat an enemy with whom they sympathized?

  
“Come, Aladdin,” Sinbad said finally, softly. Aladdin met my gaze briefly, then nodded. They turned to go, Aladdin glancing back one final time before padding up the stairs.

  
I glared at the bowl after they left. The scent was so overpowering that I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist it for long, but I hated the thought of giving in to my enemies. And of course I hated the fact that I would be forced to slurp it down like a damned dog. I sighed, glaring at the glistening stew and listening to my stomach growl. I sighed and shifted so that I was on my stomach, trying to be careful so that I didn’t spill the stew. I hoped fervently that no one came down here while I was stooped over like this. I would have to eat as quickly as I could without spilling it.

  
Shelving my rage for the moment, I stuck my head out over the bowl and blew to cool it. The delicious-smelling steam that rose from it made me almost wish to plunge my face into it. I forced myself to be patient and repeatedly blew until much of the steam had dissipated. I then stuck my lips over the side of the bowl, trying to slurp it into my mouth. It worked slightly better than I expected; I was able to get most of it into my mouth without spilling it down my chin. It was still hot, and my tongue was singed slightly, but it tasted so delicious I hardly noticed. Why were they feeding a prisoner something so magnificent? Perhaps it was poisoned. I shuddered at the thought, but I knew that the delicious smell and taste would overpower all reason. Even if I knew for sure that it was poison, I wasn’t sure if I could resist. I slurped down another mouthful, then another, before I was interrupted by a voice.

  
“Do you want me to help you?” Startled, I whipped my head up, barely missing the edge of the bowl with my chin. There was Aladdin; I had been so busy slurping down my meal that I hadn’t heard his footsteps. I glared, and to my utter horror, my cheeks flamed bright red. The kid smiled and reached his tiny arm through the bars of the cage. He tipped the bowl slightly, making it easier for me to reach the liquid.

  
I shook with rage and embarrassment. This child was offering to help me eat? I wanted to kill him, or at least chase him away, far away where he couldn’t bother me anymore. I regarded his bravery and foolishness that made him stick his arm into a prisoner’s cage. He saw me shaking and only smiled at me, still holding the bowl in the same position.

  
“Why... Why?” My voice was hard and low with hatred. Even as I spoke, my body bent down again to eat from the bowl. I hated myself as I sipped, even as I savored the taste of the perfectly spiced meat, vegetables, and broth. It was the most delicious thing I had ever tasted. I was used to hard bread and molded apples; if I had ever had a stew it would have been made of stringy chicken and shriveled carrots.

  
“It can’t be easy to eat like that,” Aladdin said in reply. I continued to sip it down, chewing the meat as quickly as I could so that I could devour the next mouthful. As the level of liquid lowered, Aladdin tipped the bowl further, until the last drops of liquid dribbled down my throat. As soon as I had finished, I shrank back to the farthest corner, thoroughly ashamed of myself, but full.

  
“Why do you even care?” I spat suddenly. I glowered but didn’t raise my head.

  
“I don’t think you’re a bad person,” Aladdin said quietly.

  
“What?” I chuckled harshly. “Then you’re even more of a fool than I am. Do you know the two things I enjoy? Rape and murder. That’s it. That’s all.”

  
I could see Aladdin shaking his head from the corner of my eye. “That’s a lie.” I raised my head slightly. He still had his hand on the bowl, in my cell, though as I watched he slowly drew them back out. Anger blossomed in my heart. How dare this kid tell me that my words were lies when he knew nothing about me?

  
“What is it with you people assuming you know more about my life than me?” I snarled. I shakily got to my feet and leaned against the bars of the cell. I glared at him and imagined twisting my hands around his head, taking it right off his shoulders. I wished I could make him see my thoughts. But he evidently could tell something of them through my feral glare. He stepped back a few paces, suddenly looking a bit afraid. More footsteps sounded outside the room. They sounded different from Sinbad’s, and a few moments later I found out I was right.

  
In front of me stepped a man with short blond hair and discerning golden eyes. I would have guessed he was 15 or 16. He stepped protectively in front of Aladdin and glared at me, unsheathing a curved knife.

  
I laughed. “What are you going to do with that? Kill me? Go ahead. I’m helpless. I couldn’t stop you if you tried. It’d probably be better for you in the end.” I showed him my chest, daring him to plunge the knife right into it.

  
The teenager stared at me, trying to read me. I could tell that he knew he really could kill me if he wanted to. “Don’t do it, Alibaba,” Aladdin said softly.

  
Alibaba turned to face Aladdin. “What makes you say that?” he asked, his face softening as he looked at his friend.

  
Aladdin turned to face me, his expression determined. “Because... No matter what he’s done, I don’t think he’s completely a bad person.”

  
Alibaba turned his gaze back to me. “He’s killed people. I’ve talked to people who... Who he had raped.” His voice was hard as steel. “How can you say that? How can you say that, Aladdin?” His voice as he addressed his friend directly softened somewhat, though his incredulity was obvious.

  
“I don’t know,” Aladdin admitted. “He sees himself as a bad person. But...” He sighed and lowered his gaze, suddenly seeming as though he were looking somewhere far distant. “I don’t know,” he said again, shaking his head.

  
A third pair of footsteps echoed throughout the ship. They were softer than even Aladdin’s, and soon appeared a third person. She was a young girl with beautiful pink hair and eyes.

  
“Hello,” I said softly with a smirk. I laughed and grinned at Alibaba. “Have you brought me a gift?”

  
Aladdin drew in a breath, and Alibaba quickly crossed to the girl and put his arm in front of her. “Don’t go near him, Morgiana,” he warned. Morgiana shivered and let Alibaba put his arm around her.

  
“I won’t let him hurt you,” Aladdin declared. His voice was harder than I had yet heard it. As he spoke, Sinbad again entered the room.

  
“What are you all doing here?” he asked, confused but not angry.

  
“Sorry, Sinbad,” Alibaba apologized. “I was just looking for Aladdin, and I couldn’t find him on deck...” His voice trailed off. “I also wanted to see the prisoner.”

  
“I wanted to see him, too,” Morgiana whispered.

  
Sinbad sighed and nodded. “I won’t forbid you from seeing him. You are free to do as you choose, as always. But he is a very dangerous person. Please be careful.”

  
Morgiana nodded solemnly. Aladdin and Alibaba both nodded briefly, Alibaba looking thoughtful.

  
“Let us go back on deck for now.” Sinbad placed a hand on Morgiana’s shoulder. She looked up at him and nodded. Alibaba and Aladdin followed, Aladdin again looking back one last time as he left. He smiled.

  
After I was again alone, I sighed and reclined on the hard wood of the ship. It wasn’t comfortable, but it was better than other prisons I had been in. And I was embarrassingly thankful for the bowl of food that now rested inside my stomach. I had no idea of the time, but I suddenly felt exhausted. And so I slowly fell to sleep, even though I was aboard an enemy vessel, as a prisoner. I supposed I had learned to sleep through a lot lately.

  
I woke some time later, annoyed by the lack of light that might have let me know the time. Oil lamps were lit, as they were before, but they were now low, as if they hadn’t been filled for awhile. I still felt tired and wondered what had woken me. Realizing that there must have been a reason besides simply being rested, I settled my body and woke my senses. Whatever it was probably knew by now that I was awake. But in case it somehow didn’t, I kept still.

  
“Hello, Tenuji.” Hearing Sinbad’s voice, I froze, then sat up. Sinbad had dragged a wooden crate over by my cell to sit on. He was staring at me thoughtfully.

 

“Does a king have nothing better to do than watch his prisoner sleep?” I was too tired to skew my voice with sarcasm.

  
“Many things,” Sinbad replied calmly, saying nothing more. I gazed at him in irritation for several seconds.

  
“Then why are you still here?” I finally asked when the force of his gaze grew to be too much to bear.

  
“Because someone on this ship wants you dead.”

  
I drew back, startled. “And you’re stopping them from killing me?”

  
Sinbad actually chuckled. “For now, yes.”

  
“What do I have that makes it worth it to you for me to stay alive?”

  
Sinbad smiled at me. “I’m not so foolish as to tell you that.”

  
I snorted and half-grinned. “Of course not.”

  
“Hey, I finally managed to make you smile.” Sinbad winked at me. I stared at him. He winked at me. Did he just not understand that I was his prisoner? A king winking at his enemy... Someone who had killed people he loved... Nothing about this man made sense.

  
“Can you just tell me so I can tell you and you can go ahead and kill me already?” I muttered.

  
“Now you suddenly want to die?” Sinbad asked, curious and almost concerned.

  
“Just leave me alone,” I grumbled. I turned my back on him and sat in the back of the cell. Sinbad sighed.

  
“We’ll be arriving at Sindria soon. Though I can’t promise the prison will be much better there.”

  
“At least you call it a prison instead of a dungeon,” I snorted. “So, are you really staying up watching me yourself because you’re afraid someone will kill me? How do you know they are, anyway?”

 

“It might be better for you not to know.”

  
I sighed. “I expected such an answer.” My back still to him, I stretched out on the hard floor. “Good night. Wake me up in the morning if I’m not dead yet.” Sinbad didn’t reply, but I could feel his gaze still on me. I wondered if he would get angry that I had technically given him an order, but he didn’t move or speak at my words. I eventually heard him sigh and shift around, but he didn’t leave. I guessed he must have been serious about keeping me alive.

  
I must have eventually fallen asleep, for after a time I felt a gentle hand shaking my shoulder. I turned, startled, and was even more surprised to see that it was Sinbad.  
“We’re here,” he said. I nodded, still amazed that a king would touch a prisoner with his own hands, and let him pull me to a stand. He kept a strong but gentle grip on me as he led me out of the cell. I desperately wanted to attempt to struggle free but knew it would be futile. Once we reached the deck, I groaned and squinted my eyes as I was greeted by the sun. Sinbad patiently waited for my eyes to adjust, then turned me to face Sindria.

  
I couldn’t hold in a gasp. It was a beautiful hill of an island, almost completely covered with houses that were arranged so that they seemed like steps. At the top Sinbad’s palace gleamed in the morning sun, magnificently gazing down at Sinbad’s beloved country. I wondered if the prison would have a view, and chuckled at the thought. Sinbad let me stare for another few seconds before gently pushing me forward. My legs unsteady from my hours at sea, I stumbled as I walked across the ship. Sinbad steadied me until I managed to clamber ashore, though the even more solid ground caused me to completely tumble over. Sinbad quickly though not unkindly grabbed me before I could run.

  
“Not used to the sea, huh?” Sinbad chuckled. I scowled. I had never been on a ship in my life.


End file.
